


Thunder Only Happens When Its Raining

by marbll_anxsui



Category: The Last of Us (Video Games), ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - The Last of Us, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Heavy Angst, M/M, Minor Canonical Character(s), Not Canon Compliant, its a tlou au ok, lots of that actually, lucy steel is stephen's adopted daughter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:47:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24046126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marbll_anxsui/pseuds/marbll_anxsui
Summary: The year is 2023. 19 year old Johnny Joestar resides in the Los Angeles Quarantine Zone, Living day to day with what feels like a ton pound weight on his shoulder, always in fear of having everything keeping him at least a little bit safe ripped from under him.He wasn't expecting for it to actually happen.
Relationships: Johnny Joestar/Gyro Zeppeli
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	1. prologue - log 23

**Author's Note:**

> i cant do the chapter summary in the actual summary box so
> 
> johnny writes down his thoughts--but only because he has to.

_Kentucky 2013. Thats when and where it started, didn’t it?_

_It was midnight, riots had been going on for some time… or at least, what was thought to be riots. Before I knew it, Dad was rushing me and Nicholas into the car. All of our belongings in that house were just left there. Except for one… I had a pet rat named Danny. Dad said we couldn’t take him, but… I had to. I felt like I did. After all, I was only nine._

_Nicolas noticed I had something in my hands--I didn’t bring Danny’s cage--and he asked what I had. I was too embarrassed to answer, so he keeped egging me on to answer until Dad yelled at me to answer him, so I did._

_I kind of wish I wouldn’t’ve._

_Dad got so mad, he went on an angry rant about how selfish I am, how stupid it was for me to take my fucking rat with me, and then… then…_

_He crashed the car. He ran into a tree, and we had to run because the sound attracted some of those damned things, and when we couldn’t run anymore, we stopped. He continued to berate me, which I guess I deserved, but it was a distraction from stuff that was way more important._

_I guess sometime while we were running, Nicholas got hurt… hurt by one of those creatures. We didn’t know until it was too late, though. After we found somewhere safe, went to sleep and woke up the next morning, he was acting strange. He attacked dad, and dad had to…_

_I never liked thinking about it. After he did what he had to do, he turned to me, tears in his eyes, and said something along the lines of “Go. Don’t look for me and don’t come back.”_

_I was a mile away when I heard a lone gunshot._ _  
_ _Maybe it didn’t happen, and it was something I dreamt so much it was burned into my brain. I don’t like thinking about how I ended up here, in Los Angeles. I don’t like thinking about being the shit end of the Joestar family. I don’t like feeling like god picked the wrong kid to die._

_And, unrelated, I definitely don’t like writing down my thoughts like this, especially when they’re just shitty past related ones but… I guess it can’t be helped. The government’s gonna want to see how i'm doing or whatever at the end of the month_

_\--_ Johnny⛤


	2. Los Angeles Under Siege

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny wasn’t expecting to wake up to screaming today. Not screaming, not gunshots, none of that, but it definitely got him out of bed, dressed, and into his wheelchair quickly.

Johnny wasn’t expecting to wake up to screaming today. Not screaming, not gunshots, none of that, but it definitely got him out of bed, dressed, and into his wheelchair quickly. With a frustrated sigh, he rolled over to his window, only to be met with shock.

Runners. Or something of the sort. The only way he knows they’re called runners is because of guides given to differentiate the different stages of the CBI, considering what the military calls ‘Bloaters’ started popping up in the beginning of the year.

“Shit, shit, shit,” He opened a drawer in his desk, pulling out a pistol and preemptively aiming it towards the door. Gunshots down the hallway rung through his door, as did screams of people and what he assumed to be runners. Cautiously, he went over to his door, pistol in his lap, and slowly opened it.

“Hey, whoever you are who just opened that door, either come out or get back in!”

Who the fuck was that? The voice came from opposite the exit, so chances are whoever they were heard the ruckus outside and came down to investigate and got met with a shitload of zombies or whatever. Very nervously, Johnny peeked out into the hallway in the direction of the voice to be met with a view of a tall man with moderately lengthy hair and what looked to be… oddly trimmed stubble. He couldn’t get all the details at this distance, so, without thinking, he went out more into the hallway.

“Who are you?” The man said, putting his gun back in its holster. He began taking very, very cautious steps toward Johnny.

“Johnny Joestar. Who are you?”

“Unimportant. You look like you need to get out of here. Uh-- shit, Do you have a gun? ‘Cause I don’t have spares and you’re gonna need one.”

“I have one right here,” Johnny answered, picking up his gun just to show it and putting it back in his lap as the man stopped in front of him.

“Good. Now, I hope you don’t mind but this quarantine zone is fucked to hell and back and we’re like sitting ducks, so I’m taking you with me on my way out of here. Before you ask when we’re leaving, It’s now. Grab your pistol.”

“I don’t mind,” Johnny said, taking hold of his pistol, “but why did you want me to grab my pisto--” Johnny cut himself off as he was picked up and carried down the hallway, “Oh.”

“Get ready!” The man pushed himself out of the exit door and into the street, running towards a nearby car in the midst of the raging infected, the gunshots, the loudness of it all.

Johnny found it hard to make himself think. Hell, before he could realize it, he was sitting in the passenger seat of a car facing the man. He--the man-- was saying something, but Johnny couldn’t really hear it. It was going in one ear and out the other. All Johnny could focus on was what was going on behind the man. He could only focus on the runner approaching them. On lifting his gun and aiming it precisely at the thing. On pulling the trigger.

One shot to the head. That’s all it took to take it down. Johnny was surprised he didn’t miss.

Alternatively, that was all it took for the man to go still.

“Jesus fucking CHRIST, dude, what was that for?” was enough to bring Johnny back enough to real time.

“I-- there was a runner coming right at you! What did you want me to do, let you get attacked?”

The man sighed. “I guess not. Thank you.”

He shut Johnny’s door and rushed over to the other side, getting in and turning it on with what Johnny assumes is a key. He can’t really tell with the other man’s hand in the way.

“Is.. Is this your car?” Johnny asked while the other man began driving away from the crowd of zombies.

“It is now. I saw it earlier, saw the keys in the floorboard. Didn’t think it’d actually work. _Nyoho_ ,” The other man giggled, “I’m thinking of naming her Valkyrie.”

“Naming her… valkyrie… what the fuck are you talking about?”

“Hey, hey, no need to be rude…” The man laughed, “My name’s uh… Gyro, by the way. You were probably wondering and I wouldn’t count who I am as unimportant anymore, so there it is.”

“Well, then, It’s nice to meet you, Gyro.” Johnny smiled, looking out of the car’s window. He didn’t realize how fast they were actually going, let alone how little the military was intervening. They probably believed there was no hope, and, really, Johnny can’t blame them. He just wished it wasn’t so easy for something like this to happen.

They were out of Los Angeles in no time. They weren’t even stopped on their way out. It was at that point where Johnny guessed that it was safe to assume that the Los Angeles quarantine zone was as good as gone.

“My guess is the sewers,” Gyro said, eliciting a ‘hm?’ from Johnny. “You know, It’s not exactly all bunnies and roses down there. A lot of sewers in a lot of the quarantine zones have problems, from what I’ve heard. Doesn’t help that they’re easy to get into in the case of half of ‘em.”

“Ah. Really?” Johnny looked over to Gyro.

“Yeah. You heard of Boston? Place is a wreck. Always. But it always seems to stick around, I guess.”

“Oh, by the way, where are we headed?”

Gyro glanced over at Johnny. “North, to San Francisco. Place is Firefly operated, but they’re cool with outsiders… I think.”

“You think?”

“Well.. uh… so long as you’re not infected, I’m pretty su--”

“Are you a firefly?”

“What? No. I’ve just been a little bit of all over the place. I don’t have any allegiance to anyone.”

Johnny stared at Gyro for a moment and then at the dashboard of the car. “Sure. I’ll believe you… for now.” he joked in a faux threatening voice.

But regardless of the joke, he felt as though Gyro might be lying in places. Which places he has no idea, but, yknow, places. Or maybe he’s telling the truth, but he’s hiding certain parts of it. Johnny can only hope it’s the latter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i picked los angeles because it is a canonical quarantine zone and only mentioned in passing. you don't really know what happened to it, but i thought it would be neat to kick the story off there.


	3. Fireflies, San-Francisco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the boys end up in san-fran but not before hearing some sweet tunes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sshkskg im so sorry this took so long but i was hit really hard by stuff a few months ago but I think im back in the swing of things. if you have questions feel free to ask them in the comments or send me an ask on tumblr! (@/marbll-anxsui) ! ALSO diego might be a little ooc from how he is in canon and that is completely on purpose

Johnny sighed, looking around in the car for anything to keep his mind off of what just happened that morning. It had already been hours by then. The screaming, the zombies, the fact that he was travelling to a firefly base with someone he only met that same morning. It didn’t feel real and too good to be true, and that was overwhelming. Maybe more than overwhelming, even. He leaned forward slightly and opened the glove box, looking around in it and seeing nothing of value except for one CD case. Curious, he pulled it out and scanned the cover.

“Fleetwood Mac… Greatest Hits…” His eyes widened, and he opened the case. The disc was intact. A little _too_ convenient, but he didn't care, “Cool fuckin’ beans, dude!”

Gyro glanced over. “Hm? What’cha got there?”

Johnny held the title face of the cover towards Gyro. “A Fleetwood Mac CD! My dad was kinda old and always made us listen to stuff like this, but this was one thing that I really liked from back then…”

“Shit, really? If the car works, then the CD player should. Put it in!” Gyro looked like a kid on christmas, smiling from ear to ear. “I fuckin’ love Fleetwood Mac. Er-- used to, I guess. Haven’t listened to _any_ music in a while.”

Enthusiastically, Johnny took the CD out of the case and put it into the player. It took a moment, but as the beginning notes of _Rhiannon_ played, he felt himself thinking that maybe even though today feels too good to be true, it’s not all too bad. He’s safe, at least.

For the next hour or so, the duo spent their time screaming lyrics at the top of their lungs--or babbling something that sounded like lyrics that either or maybe even both of them hadn’t committed to memory. As _No Questions Asked_ faded out, the skyline of San Fransisco came into view.

“Would you look at that? Has it really been 5 hours already?” Gyro smiled, leaning forward to get a better look at the city from afar. “They’ve got a lot of helpful stuff there, if I’m remembering correctly. You gonna want and or need anything?”

“Well I can’t say I’m particularly fond of being carried.”

“Oh. right. I’ll tell ‘em about that. They’re probably gonna wanna check up on you though, just a heads up.”

“Thank you,” Johnny smiled, thinking about it. He would have brought his crutches, but… they were in his closet, so there’s no way he could have gotten them in time. At least there’s a chance of him getting new ones…

Thinking about it always takes him back to the incident. One moment he was a starving kid discreetly (at least, he thought it was discreet) cutting in line for food, the next he was waking up in a medical tent with no knowledge of why he was there or what was happening.

God, he hates thinking about it. Every instant he does, he tries his hardest to push it out of his head as quickly as it gets in there.

\----

It was rough, getting into the QZ. Even though it’s firefly operated… Those guys are militant as hell, it seems.

“Hey, hey, hold your fire. I’m here with a buddy of mine--can i call him that? Either way, I’ve got someone with me. Neither of us have been bitten or are infected. We just need to stay here for the night,” Gyro said, standing outside the car with his arms up, “Also, my buddy needs to take a visit to the hospital. He needs crutches.”

One guard looked to another, the other one spoke into a walkie talkie. What he said was hushed and unintelligible from the car.

Ultimately, they got in. That’s all that mattered. A few hours later and… they were both sitting in a medical tent, all too reminiscent of the one Johnny found himself just over 3 years ago. The light was low, save for a few lamps serving as light sources.

“You look a little uneasy there, man,” Gyro leaned forward, shooting a worried look at Johnny.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Johnny mumbled, rocking in his seat, “I just… don’t like these places. Bad memories. You know what? I-- I don’t want to talk right now.”

“Alright. Take your time,” Gyro leaned back, adjusting as he did so. His eyes couldn’t help but routinely stray back to the other man, though.

“Hello,” A subtle, quiet, voice rang after a while. Neither of theirs. They were both taken out of their thoughts, looking up. A nervous young man stood in front of the two. He was average height, wearing a blue-green turtleneck and beige pants. He wore black gloves, too, and the hand that was holding a small clipboard--probably to write things down with, shook profusely. There was a bandage on his cheek, starting where his mouth ended. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything, but I don’t think that matters all that much right now. You two… wanted to see me, right? I’m Diego Brando. One of… three doctors still in San-Francisco.”

“You look awfully young to be a doctor.” Gyro said in jest.

“We can’t all have gone to 6 years of medical school after graduation.” Diego sneered, “I heard that you, um, in the blue, needed crutches and… ah… I see. We can get these for you in no time… Or… do you want a check up, too?”

“I would prefer… not to have a check up, thanks.”

Diego nodded, “Right, right… Are you sure? Of course you’re sure, they’re always sure when they get check ups. What about you, with the odd facial hair…?”

Gyro cleared his throat, “No.”

“Right, I’ll go and get what you need… uh… make yourselves comfortable…?”

“Already on it,” Gyro yawns, throwing his jacket over his head. He probably looked kind of goofy, he admitted, but he needed to take care of any light if he wanted to get at least a small bit of rest.

And so, Johnny was left alone in the all too familiar medical tent.


	4. interlude - diego forgets where the storage tent is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> diego goes to see his higher up: the mini-chapter

Diego inched into the office of who he considered to be his only superior--barely even applicable, but he did look over the entire QZ-- Stephen Steel. The room kept its usual layout, and sitting in the chair in front of him fiddling with papers was Stephen in his usual place.

Stephen glanced up, “Oh. Hello, Diego, what do you need?”

Diego’s voice wavered, “Uh, the two who came in earlier tonight--you heard of them, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“Um… do you know where we keep the crutches? I’m sorry for asking, but I keep forgetting…”

“You’re fine. We keep them in the medical tent just south and to the left of the one those two are in, if i recall. That’s our storage tent, remember?”

Diego nodded, “Yes, I remember now. Thank you,” He turned on his heel to leave, but quickly turned back, “Have a nice night, Stephen. How’s your daughter holding up?”

“Lucy’s fine, she just doesn’t like going out all too much. How’s your, um… your wound?”

“It’s… It’s alright. I’ve been taking good care of it, and it’s started healing up at the end. It should be better in no time.”

“Alright. Sorry for asking, but that’s such a nasty wound, so I felt it’s only normal I check up on you. I am so sorry that that happened, too--”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Alright. You have a nice night too, Diego.

Diego nodded again, and left the room. He had to attend to the task at hand…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted 2 include stephen nd lucy somehow even if it was really small like this i hope yall like it  
> also sorry this chapters so short sgsgsgs but its also kinda like that on purpose? i wanted to separate the last chapter from the upcoming one and this was the best way i thought i could do it


	5. Movin' Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> someone has to go to uec, someone has to leave san-fran
> 
> consider this a christmas gift, i havent posted in literal months

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait, I started up another project (which i wont talk about here) and completely forgot about this one.

Johnny began getting antsy. How long was that motherfucker going to keep him waiting? Here he was, sitting alone, in the middle of the night--

“Sorry for taking so long,” Diego says walking in, holding a pair of crutches, pausing, and letting out a small, nervous chuckle, “I thought you’d both be asleep right now. Either way, I’ll just leave these here and, ah, be on my merry way... unless you need something else..?”

“Uh…” He left himself thinking for a moment, “N...no. I don’t need anything else. Thank you.”  
“Happy to help. Please try to get some rest, by the way. It’s late.”

“Right…” _In this medical tent? He’d rather get torn to bits by infected._ “Will do… definitely…”

Diego got the hint and took it upon himself to go on his merry way. There's no way he could force the poor guy to get sleep—shit, he looked like he needed heaps of it, but that's not in his job description.

Johnny, however, tried to at _least_ make himself comfortable. He kept finding himself glancing over at Gyro, mostly out of jealousy. Of course the dude had something to cover his own eyes with. As an attempt, Johnny sinked into his hoodie, pulling the hood up and pulling the strings as far as they could go. They left enough room for eyes, much to his dismay, but he figured it was easier to not think about where you are once you've closed your eyes and have made yourself comfortable enough to fall asleep. He leaned back and put his hands in the pocket of his hoodie, dipping his head forward and closing his eyes.

He fell asleep eventually.

He woke up to leaves rustling. Mid-morning, he estimated. Everything was coated in a dull warm light.

He was still in that damned medical tent. He assumed that was why he woke up, too. Hard to sleep when you’re in a place you’d much rather not be in.

Right next to him, Gyro stirred.

“Ugh,” He groaned, “stupid chair making my back stiff and shit.”

He looked around the tent, “You're up already, Johnny?”

"Unfortunately, haven’t been awake very long though," Johnny sighed, "I'd hate to wake up somewhere like this again."

"Could be worse, arguably. Could have zombies breathin' down your neck,'' Gyro flashed a quick smile, followed by a small chuckle.

"Fair point, but I'd hate to wake up like that too."

“...Fair point,” Gyro says, leaning forward to put his jacket back on.

“Aw, now, what’s this?” Gyro leaned even further, hand stretched out. Upon Johnny’s further inspection, he was leaning for a post-it note on the small desk in the opposite corner.

Grabbing it, Gyro immediately leaned back into his chair. In shaky handwriting, the note read:

_Reminder - treat your wound before you go to bed! The golden gate bridge didn’t stay intact for you to be lazy._

“Oh,” Gyro sighed, “I thought it’d be somethin’ interesting.”

“What’s it say?” Johnny quizzically looked at Gyro.

“It’s a reminder for that doctor guy to treat a wound he has. Nothin’ important,'' Gyro paused, “At least, not for us.”

“Right,” Johnny nodded, “When, uh… when are we leaving…? Even if it’s just getting out of this tent, I need to do something.”

“I dunno… when do you want to leave?”

\----

“You wanted to see me again, Mr. Steel?”

Diego stood in the middle of Stephen’s office. Mid-morning. He’s seen this room so much he practically can pinpoint every tiny detail in it.

“Yes. I did some thinking-- I’ve _done_ some thinking and…” The old man sighs, taking off his glasses and rubbing his temples, “I’ve decided that out of the three doctors we have here, you’re the best choice we have to send to UEC. If those two men that came in last night agree to it, you’ll be leaving with them and they’ll be ordered to get you there. I’m relying on you to ask.”

“Mr. Steel, you can’t--”

“I _am_ serious. You’re the best we’ve got, and the fireflies at UEC need you.”   
“Mr. Steel, please don’t talk me up like that. You could very well get Oyecomova or Mrs. Robinson to go, they’re so much better at their craft than I am. If you’d decided sooner, you could have sent Dr. Ferdinand, too, but...”

“Diego, I’m not going to argue with you on this.”

“What if I--?” Diego’s fist was clenched, his teeth grating together, “Fine. I’ll go. I’ll go down to ask those two right now.”

\----

Diego approached the tent.

"I was thinking we leave soon. Like right now, personally," he heard one of the men say--the one in the blue, he guessed. Their voices were vastly different.

"Well, then we can go right now. Hope our car's still out there… we're kinda S-O-L if it's not…"

"Um, excuse me. A word with you both," Diego butted in, almost bursting into the tent. "Sorry to interrupt anything, but my supervisor has told me to ask you if you work be alright with me joining you in leaving the QZ. Under one condition: I need to be taken to the University of Eastern Colorado."

"UEC…? Why?" Gyro asked, crossing his arms.

"A group of fireflies is stationed out there for research in the science building," Diego scratched at the edge of his bandage--not to tear it off, moreso out of nervous habit, "My supervisor assumed that they need all the help they can get, so… I'm that help. But I'm only going if you're willing to take me."

Gyro shrugged, "Alright. We'll take you to UEC. Just don't cause any problems for us, 'kay?"

"Okay." Diego nodded, "Thank you."

The group stood there for a moment. Gyro and Johnny having their eyes fixated on the other man, Diego.

“Oh! I already have a gun, let me just get… the bag I had to prepare in case this happened…” Diego was out and then back in the tent in a matter of minutes. “I’m ready whenever you two are.”

Getting the okay to leave was way easier then getting the okay to enter, evidently, and they left without a single problem. When they exited the gate at the other end of the bridge, Gyro excitedly ran over to the car they came in-- _his_ car, he’d claimed it as his. Named it Valkyrie.

“Should still have some juice,” Gyro smiled, “Hop in, guys. We’re gettin’ out of here.”


	6. 500 miles (500 more)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny, Diego, Gyro and the very long walk

The car broke down a few hours after leaving San-francisco. Of course it did, limited resources and old weather worn components don’t really make for good, long lasting transportation. Gyro was especially bummed that ‘Valkyrie’ was out of commission. They’d all spent the night in the car after it broke down and continued on foot. From what Johnny recalled, Gyro said they were around the halfway point of Nevada. One unanimous agreement was that travelling on foot sucked, having travelled solely on paved back roads as opposed to highways. Safety measure, Gyro had said, regardless of the fact that its way more likely to be ambushed by a bunch of those monstrosities in areas like backroads. At the moment, they were at one of the places where the highway and the backroads intersect.

Whatever it was,  _ wherever _ it was, it wasn’t a fun place to be. The air was dry and the land equally so. The sun beat down on them to no end.

“Guys, rest stop. Gas station.” Gyro said, voice audibly tired.

“I don’t trust like that,” Diego mumbled, “For my own sake, I’m not going inside. I’ll just… wait outside.”

“In the sun?” Gyro’s brow furrowed, “Should be fine, though. And you’ve got a gun, so you’d be fine anyways.”

“R.. right,” Diego said, trying to reassure himself mentally. He walked in close behind the other two, fearing that if he strayed just a little too far one of those things would get him.

“Less a gas station and more of a decrepit old shack, I’ll say,” Johnny grumbled. Looking at his surroundings, he could see the slightest indication of something under the door to one of the bathrooms.

“Hey, I want.. One of you to stay close behind me, just in case.”   
Fungal growth. It was fungal growth. Never a good sign no matter where you are. Upon closer inspection, Johnny had realized that maybe going toward it wasn’t the best idea.

“Guys, we probably shouldn’t linger,” Johnny spoke from where he was, turning around to find that both Gyro and Diego were close behind him, “Got a bad case of shrooms here, and I’m pretty sure you guys don’t wanna stick around long enough to breathe in too many spores. I know I don’t.”   
“Wait,” Diego said, reaching into his backpack, “I have a few masks. I packed them so that if I had to leave, I could just… have them at the ready. In case you guys still want to look around, I’ll lend two of these to you.”

Gyro, without speaking, took one, and Johnny followed suit. All three of them put one on immediately.

“Okay,” Johnny looked at the bathroom door once more, “I’m gonna… open that door. I know I shouldn’t, but… curiosity’s what killed the cat, right?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Gyro said, “Whatever’s in there could very well be long dead, but you never know. First you open a door, then  _ uh oh! _ You’ve got a runner biting into your neck. Not a good way to go.”

“Right,” Johnny nodded, understanding what Gyro was getting at.

As the group dispersed around the gas stop--which was mostly stripped of anything of value anyways, save for a few things, Diego found himself lingering around the bathroom. He desperately wanted to open the door. Who knows, it could just be a dead guy entombed in a gross mound of fungus. Been there, seen that. He doubted there was anything that could hurt him in there. He heard no clicking, no grunts or screams. Worst case scenario, there’s a bloater, but that’s unlikely beyond belief.

So he opened the door. Like deer, Gyro and Johnny’s heads moved toward the noise of it being opened. It was difficult to open, but it’s assumed that having an entire blockade of fungus filling a room will do that. By the time Gyro and Johnny got there, they found Diego kneeling in the room, looking at a dead body.

“Oh, wow. You’re in some bad shape there. Couldn’t find a way to save yourself that didn’t include shooting yourself, huh?” Diego mumbled, sarcastically, “Lets see if you have anything on you.”

Diego messed around with the visible parts of the body and clothes he could see, looking for just about anything. Looking for bandages, bullets, the gun the guy used… whatever could be helpful. He was only knocked out of it when a voice--Gyro’s, echoed through the bathroom.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“Looking for stuff that’ll help us, obviously,” Diego grumbled, “What does it look like I’m doing, hm?”

“It  _ looks _ like you’re creepily sitting in a spore-filled room pillaging a dead guy’s body,” Johnny said.

“I mean…” Diego dramatically threw his arms up, “I guess! If that’s how you put it! You'd probably do the same! You've probably  _ done _ the same!”

Diego rubbed the temples of his mask, “Do you guys at least have everything you were looking for?”

Both Gyro and Johnny nodded.

“Then let’s go, because I’m obviously no help and you both have probably gotten everything in the damned station. We’ve rested enough.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Gyro rolled his eyes.

\------

It had been 15 days after that stop at the gas station. Gyro said they were significantly closer to UEC, given that they were actually in Colorado now. All they needed to do was make the final stretch and they could go about their business.

The forests were colder, not significantly, but definitely colder in a way that was noticeable. The atmosphere in the area the group was in specifically felt heavy, and something definitely made Johnny uneasy.

“Guys,” He said, voice hushed, “Do you think that maybe we should be careful? We don’t know what’s ahead of us. For all we know there could be a massive hoard of those things.”

“I think we’ll be fine. If there’s any sign of danger, then yeah, we start being careful,” Gyro said aloud, “But I don’t feel like I’m in danger right now.”

“I think Johnny has a point,” Diego said, “before you look at me weird, it does feel sort of off here. You… don’t think so, Gyro?”

“I’m not being attacked right now, so I’m not in danger. Next thing you’re gonna tell me is that you hear clicking up ahead of us.”

The group fell silent, just to listen to their surroundings, stopping where they stood. The sound of the wind blowing through the leaves was the loudest thing around them.

Nothing. At least, they heard nothing. Saw nothing. Nothing that pointed to runners, or stalkers, or clickers. Diego trusted that none of them had seen a bloater yet either.

And yet, the uneasy feeling lingered when they continued on.

_ 'Might be hunters,'  _ Gyro thought,  _ 'but what the fuck would they want in the ass end of a forest? There's nothing of note here. Nothing even the most depraved could make do with. But they don't know that, do they?' _

He grumbled out of frustration, leading turned heads and intent eyes staring directly at him.

"You okay?" Johnny said, still whispering.

"Mmmmh," Gyro hummed, not providing a further answer.

Something would eventually get in their way.


End file.
